


Idiots in the Dark

by MotherOfBeardedDragons



Series: Clint Barton Bingo 2019 [7]
Category: Daredevil (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Awesome Natasha Romanov, Caves, Clint Barton Bingo 2019, Clint Barton-centric, Friendship, Gen, Human Disaster Clint Barton, Matt Murdock is a Good Bro, Team Bonding, That's it that's the plot, while being trapped in a cave
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-29 13:00:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19020430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MotherOfBeardedDragons/pseuds/MotherOfBeardedDragons
Summary: “It’s really dark.”“Yeah, no shit.”Clint, Natasha, and Matt are trapped in a cave with no lights and no way to call for help. Natasha is sleep deprived, Clint is hyped up on caffeine, Matt's trying to get them out alive, and they're all 100% done with this mission. Nothing like being trapped in small confined spaces together to really build friendships.





	Idiots in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> For the square "dark" on my Clint Barton Bingo board. I went very literal lol.

   “It’s really dark.”

   “Yeah, no shit.” 

   Natasha uselessly shook the flashlight again. 

   “I can’t even see my hand in front of my face.”

   “Dammit I know it’s dark Clint,” Natasha grumbled, throwing the flashlight in frustration. Unfortunately it missed her partner. 

   To be fair, Natasha had been up for 48 hours straight. She had flown back to New York that morning and only a few hours later had joined a few of the Avengers on whatever the hell this escapade was. She would much rather be in bed than in a cave listening to Clint state the bleeding obvious. 

   Clint, on the other hand, had drank an entire pot of coffee before entering the cave and was bursting with nervous energy. A grouchy, sleep-deprived Natasha and an energetic antsy Clint in an enclosed space was probably a bad idea. 

   Matt was just hoping he could get to the two spies before they killed each other. He knew how close they were, but he also knew they tended to fight like siblings sometimes. Heavily armed siblings trained to kill. 

   They were miles underground in a cave tracking some sort of rogue agent. They had split up, Matt taking one tunnel, Clint and Natasha another. After about ten minutes there had been a shrill sound, a wave of static energy, and then silence. The comms had stopped working. 

   From what Matt could gather the agent they were pursuing had set off a device that disabled all of their technology, including comms, cell phones, and lights. They had no way of communicating with one another, no way of calling for help, and no light. 

   Which, fortunately, wasn’t a problem for Matt. Using his heightened hearing he was making his way towards Clint and Natasha where they were stumbling and bickering through the passage. 

   “Clint I swear to God if you don’t quit breathing down my neck…”

   “I can’t stop breathing Natasha.”

   “I could make you stop.”

   Matt hurried his pace. Clint was literally bouncing off the walls and Natasha was nearing the edge of her patience. 

   Matt froze as he heard a crumbling and crashing sound, the ground shaking. He quickly pressed himself against the wall, waiting for it to pass. After a moment of silence Matt ran towards Natasha and Clint. He had been trying to be quiet, there was still a hostile agent lurking somewhere in the caves, but now he couldn’t stop himself from yelling. 

   “Clint! Natasha!”

   He sighed in relief when he heard their voices. 

   “Aww, rocks, no.”

   “Fuck.”

   “Are you guys ok?,” he yelled, still running. 

   “Murdock?,” Clint asked. 

   “Of course it’s Murdock, who the hell else would it be,” Natasha replied. 

   “I dunno, maybe the asshole we’re down here chasing.”

   “Why would the asshole we’re down here chasing stop to ask if we were ok after dumping a bunch of rocks on us?”

   Matt slowed down as he approached a pile of rocks. 

   “I’m on the other side of the rockslide, are you ok?,” Matt asked. 

   “We’re fine. Just a little snug right now,” Clint replied. 

   “A little? You’re knees are in my ribcage right now.”

   “Yeah, well you’re foot’s wedged in my spine.”

   “It’s about to be wedged up your ass if you don’t quit twitching,” Natasha threatened. 

   “I drank a lot of coffee before we came in here.”

   “So?”

   “I kind of have to pee.”

   “Barton, if you pee on my I will end you,” Natasha stated. 

   Matt didn’t doubt it. 

   “I’m going to try to move the rocks, you aren’t too deep and there’s another way out this direction,” Matt said. 

   “Please hurry,” Natasha said wearily. 

   Clint wanted to help but he knew they would risk knocking the rocks outward onto Matt or crushing themselves. He would have to sit still and wait, which he hated. 

   Matt carefully removed rocks, using his senses to get an idea of the structure of the rock pile so he wouldn’t cause it to collapse. 

   He listed to make sure Clint and Natasha were ok. He paused in confusion when he heard snoring. 

   “Is Natasha sleeping?,” he asked. 

   “Yep,” Clint replied. 

   “She’s in a cave, under a pile of rocks, and she’s sleeping?”

   “This isn’t the weirdest place I’ve seen Natasha take a nap.”

   Clint knew Natasha was capable of sleeping anywhere. They had to be in their line of work, but Natasha was a step above. He had once seen her sleep at the bottom of  a lake in full scuba gear on one mission. 

   “Ok,” Matt said with a shrug as he resumed moving rocks. 

   “Just let her sleep man, I wanna make it out of this cave alive.”

   “Why did she come on this mission if she just got back from another one?,” Matt asked. 

   “There really wasn’t anyone else. The rest of the team was off dealing with some alien bullshit. Bruce was home, but he didn’t think he should go down in a cave for obvious reasons.”

   “And for that I’m grateful,” Matt replied. 

   Matt worked in silence for a while when Clint spoke up. 

   “I’ve been freaking out all week while Natasha’s been gone.”

   “Is that why you’ve been chugging coffee?”

   Matt knew Clint was infamous for his caffeine intake, he put Tony to shame, but he had noticed Clint had been edgy and downing coffee every chance he got this past week. 

   “Yeah, I’ve had a hard time focusing, or resting, or doing anything. I was really worried.”

   “Why didn’t you go on the mission together?”

   “I would have, but they wouldn’t let me. It was an assignment only Natasha could do. I don’t know all the details, but I know she said she wanted to do it,” Clint explained. 

   Matt could tell by his heartbeat that Clint was upset.

   “I can’t even remember the last time one of us went on a mission by ourselves. We always do things together,” Clint continued. “I know Natasha’s more than capable of taking care of herself, but I just hate not being there for her. Just sitting around and waiting. Hell, it’s driving me crazy just sitting here under these damn rocks waiting for you to dig us out. I’d rather bust my way out.” 

   “I’m almost there. Once I move these last few rocks you should be able to get out.”

   “I wasn’t rushing you or anything. It’s just...it’s hard.”

   Clint didn’t have to clarify. Having people you loved be in danger was hard. Feeling helpless was hard. Caring about people was hard. 

   “I’m glad Natasha made it back ok,” Matt said. 

   “Me too. I mean, I’d rather have her back in the tower and not under a pile of rocks, but I guess I’ll take what I can get.”

   “Ok, I think I’ve got it cleared enough that you should be able to push your way out,” Matt said, stepping back. 

   “Hey, Nat. Please don’t punch me. It’s time to wake up,” Clint said. 

   A moment later Matt heard a smack and Clint yelp. 

   “I said not to punch me!”

   “I didn’t punch you, I slapped you,” Natasha said groggily. 

   “We should be good to go. I’m going to kick the rocks the rest of the way loose.”

   Natasha yawned. 

   Clint kicked hard a few times and busted through the remaining rocks. He managed to carefully untangle himself from Natasha and wriggle his way backwards through the hole. Thank god for his circus training. 

   Natasha more gracefully maneuvered her way out and stood up next to Clint, groaning at her aching muscles. Clint sprinted down the cave path, presumably to find a spot to pee. 

   “You were awake,” Matt said after a moment. 

   “Yeah, I was.”

   Natasha had slept for a little bit, but had woken up while Clint and Matt were talking. 

   “He cares about you a lot.”

   “It’s mutual.

   Matt nodded. He knew Clint and Natasha weren’t the most open about expressing their feelings, hell who was?, but he could tell the two shared a deep bond and loved each other. 

   “The mission, Clint wanted to go. But I couldn’t let him, I had SHIELD keep him out. It involved the Red Room, I couldn’t drag him into that. If something happened and he…,” Natasha paused. “I couldn’t let anyone else go through what I did. Especially Clint. I couldn’t risk it.”

   “I get it. I know what it’s like to try to keep the people you care about safe.”

   “I hated leaving Clint stressed out all week, but I couldn’t put him in danger just because I have a score to settle.”

   “Trust me, I know all about having scores to settle,” Matt said sadly. 

   Wilson Fisk. The Hand. Bullseye. The list would probably grow longer. 

   “Clint’s an idiot sometimes, but he’s my idiot,” Natasha said. 

   “Speaking of, what’s taking him so long?,” Matt said. 

   He had been been so focused on talking with Natasha that he had lost track of Clint. 

   A moment later a light appeared down the passage, or at least Matt figured it was a light from the energy, and the two sprang into fight stances and drew their weapons. Matt relaxed when he realized who it was. 

   “Hey look what I found!,” Clint yelled. 

   He was slowly approaching him, dragging something heavy behind him. 

   “Where did you get a light?,” Natasha asked, holstering her gun. 

   “From this asshole.”

   They heard a groan and realized the heavy object Clint was dragging was a body. 

   “Son of a bitch,” Natasha said, smirking. 

   It was the agent they had been sent to find. He looked a little more worse for the wear, but it was definitely him. 

   “Dude tried to attack me while I was peeing. Who does that?”

   Matt suddenly burst out laughing, startling them. 

   “Sorry,” he said, catching his breath, “it’s just...our lives are so ridiculous.”

   Clint and Natasha couldn’t help but join in laughing. The agent looked at them like they were crazy, and maybe they were. 

   “How about we get the hell outta here,” Clint said, catching his breath. 

   “Sounds good to me.” 

   “I need my bed,” Natasha groaned. 

   The three of them managed to, not so gently, tie up the rogue agent with zip ties and began the process of dragging his ass out of the cave. 

   “Hey, have you seen  _ The Descent _ ?,” Clint asked.

   “Believe it not Clint I don’t watch very many movies,” Matt replied. 

   “Oh shut up. I know Foggy narrates them for you,” Clint replied. 

   “Are you suggesting we leave this guy down here to get eaten by mutant cave monsters?,” Natasha asked. 

   “Exactly!”

   “He is pretty heavy,” Matt said with a shrug. 

   The agent they were dragging hog-tied through the cave groaned. 

   They heard voices up ahead and quickly turned the light out, pressing against the wall. 

   “It’s Agent Hill,” Matt said in relief after a moment of listening. 

   “They must have sent a team when we didn’t check in,” Natasha said. 

   “Good, they can carry that guy out of here.”

   The three of them greeted the relieved agents and followed as they ushered their captive out of the cave. 

   Clint and Natasha were surprised to see it was dark outside when they emerged. They had been in the cave for hours. 

   The three of them settled into the van. Natasha immediately fell asleep, draped across Clint. Clint fought to stay awake but then fell asleep, leaning against Matt. Matt watched the two of them curled up against each other and smiled. Then he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> [Updated Clint Barton Bingo Card](https://motherofbeardeddragons.tumblr.com/post/184954441322/my-updated-bingo-card)
> 
> [I'm on Tumblr!](https://motherofbeardeddragons.tumblr.com/)


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